It might the “Boys and Girls” Clubs, but at some North County branches, it’s not unusual to see a few bigger athletes shooting hoops or lifting weights too.

Real big. Like the Phoenix Suns’ Jared Dudley and Steve Nash. Or offseason NFL players who live in the area.

Their presence is not lost on the 25,000 kids who participate in the club’s sports and activities programs, said Keith Padgett, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito, which has served coastal North County since 1967.

“We get calls from players who ask if they can come in and shoot a round or use the facilities while they’re here,” Padgett said. “There is usually some interaction (with the kids), and (the players) are really appreciative of that adulation.”

For many of those visiting athletes, the San Dieguito Boys and Girls Clubs was a key to their sports development. John Allred was raised in Rancho Santa Fe and was a standout football player at Torrey Pines High, from which he graduated in 1992. He went on to play college football at USC and professionally as a tight end for the Chicago Bears between 1997 and 2000 and for Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002. He retired that year.

“I didn’t just learn athletics — I learned a lot of life lessons there as well,” he said about his years playing sports at the club. “Because there were kids of all ages and sizes there, it taught me at an early age to form mental strength and the determination to ‘suck it up’ and not show my fears.”

Allred, who along with his father and brother has been a financial supporter of the club, now lives in San Clemente with his wife and four children. He coaches his daughter’s soccer team at a Boys and Girls Club there.

“When I was growing up, the high school and college kids were the coaches all the younger kids looked up to,” he said. “I see that happening now and it’s great as a parent to see these kids emulating them. They become role models.”

That peer interaction is crucial to the children (ages 6 to 18) who visit his club, Padgett said. He calls the club’s busiest hours — from 2 to 6 p.m. — a “dangerous time” that could find kids getting into trouble after school. Instead, they play ball, make crafts or gather in workshops to learn life skills at one of the club’s six branches.

“They know if they come to the Boys and Girls Clubs there will be something here they’ll be interested in. They come here and they feel safe,” Padgett said.

That sense of belonging is exactly what drew sports radio host John Kentera to the Boys and Girls Clubs as a youngster in Solana Beach in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Since his parents owned a restaurant, they were often busy, which left him free to wander over to the club.

“It filled a lot of time where I could develop my skills and be with my friends,” he said.

Back then, the club wasn’t much more than a few basketball hoops, an arts and crafts area and some pool tables and pingpong tables. Yet Kentera said he “basically lived there” and was named the club’s Athlete of the Year in 1971 and Boy of the Year in 1972. As an adult, he has mentored hundreds of student athletes who have gone on to successful college and professional careers.

Padgett said Allred and Kentera’s experiences are exactly what he and his full-time staff of 12 plus 90 part-time coaches hope to pass on to participants.

“Whether you’re a good athlete or not, sports teaches you how to get along with others, you learn how to participate with peers and get along as a team, and you work toward a common goal,” he said. “These are lessons you need to learn whether you are going to be an athlete as an adult or not.”

The Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito offers a range of sports, camps, classes and other programming at various fees. Financial aid is available. For more information, go to www.positiveplacesd.org.